Alira levelled her steel blade at Gideon.

  “Have you come to die, or will you flee like a rat again?”

  Gideon’s jaw tightened, but his smug smirk soon returned. “All I see are three easy targets, low on essence.” He scoffed. “I won’t be the one dying - or fleeing.”

  Kai gripped his sword. There wasn’t much he could do. He could teleport once - maybe.

  And that carried its own dangers.

  Rusk stayed behind them. The weasel-faced man stood between Gideon and the trio. He hadn’t cleared Kai’s suspicion - his arrival was too convenient, his injury questionable.

  Blood still dripped from the hole in his left arm.

  Would Gideon injure his own spy? Possible.

  Extra manpower would be useful, but they couldn’t risk trusting this stranger. Killing him without confirming his allegiance posed its own problem - if he wasn’t Gideon’s spy, he could be a useful asset.

  Kai met Rusk’s gaze and nodded toward the weasel-faced man. “If he tries anything, deal with him.”

  Rusk nodded, looking almost too exhausted to speak. Evading the spear with his threads must’ve drained his soul essence to dangerous levels - his skin was paler than usual, his enthusiasm dulled.

  Kai turned back to Alira. The weasel-faced man loitered at a distance from the impending battle. After all his talk, he was proving to be no help at all.

  They had little choice but to rely on Alira’s Curse and Kai’s blade skill.

  Gideon stepped into the courtyard. Alira advanced toward the noble bastard. Ten feet separated them when Gideon halted. Flames burst from his skin, coiling around his body.

  “Let’s make this quick, so I can mop up the trash, princess.”

  Alira lunged forward, her steel blade swinging with flawless precision. Gideon caught her blade with his own, but his form was sloppy. Alira drove him back. Gideon was no match for her.

  Kai’s muscles tightened as he lifted his steel blade.

  He’s too confident.

  He glanced at the weasel-faced man while moving to harass Gideon from behind. The shabby man leaned against the concrete wall, making no move to interfere. He wasn’t using his Gift either - whatever it was.

  Even discounting his injury, the man’s behaviour was suspicious.

  Striking at the weasel-faced man was too dangerous - Alira couldn’t handle Gideon alone in her state. Rusk was on the verge of collapse - he had only one attack left in him. Kai had no choice but to let the suspicious Marked loiter, relying on Rusk to put him down if he tried anything.

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  Kai closed in on Gideon’s back, ready to cut him down. But Gideon wasn’t some amateur. He pivoted to keep Kai at his flank, and a wall of fire surged up to block his path and vision. Kai slipped around the flaming barrier, edging into striking distance - only for another flaming wall to erupt in his path.

  This approach wasn’t going to work.

  Gideon had the soul essence advantage - and a Gift that countered two of three temporary allies. Kai and his companions were running on fumes. And the weasel-faced bastard was another variable.

  The longer this fight dragged on, the worse their chances - not only because of their limited essence, but because their number advantage wouldn’t last. Other Marked would soon converge on the new Target, murderous intent driving them. Rusk’s traps would end a few of them, but Gideon had left one entrance undefended.

  And who could say which side the weasel-faced bastard would choose?

  Something had to change - fast. If he had the essence to teleport, he could’ve bypassed the flame walls…but he didn’t.

  Space manipulation consumed three times less essence than teleporting. But shortening the distance between himself and Gideon would drop him straight into the flame wall - a painful way to die.

  Kai had no choice - he had to abandon attacking Gideon and focus on supporting Alira. With her skill, her Curse, and Kai’s space manipulation…they could find a chink in Gideon’s armour.

  Kai increased his distance from the battling duo. The clash of steel filled his ears. He shifted into position a few feet behind Alira.

  No flame walls rose to block his vision or movement.

  Gideon’s flames have limited range? Good to know.

  It made sense. Gideon’s powers already exceeded what an average Marked could do. He could conjure fire and cloak his body in flames. If he could throw fireballs, the fairness of the system would be questionable.

  The flaming noble’s limited range was a minor weakness - but better than nothing.

  Kai moved as Alira moved, eyes fixed on the battle while his spatial sense prepared him for a sudden strike from the weasel-faced man or incoming enemies.

  Gideon’s flaming sword fell like a blow from the heavens. Alira dodged at the last moment, stumbling as she lost her balance. Gideon moved to capitalise on the opening, his flaming sword slicing the air to meet her throat.

  Kai was a heartbeat away from manipulating space to push the fighters apart, but Alira was faster. Her sword met Gideon’s and their steel sang. A feint?

  Alira’s sword slid down Gideon’s blade, and he loosened his grip. The flaming sword clattered to the ground.

  Gideon shouted, “Now, Bernard!”

  The weasel-faced man pushed off the wall and stepped toward the clash. The bruises on his face vanished as he moved, the gaping hole in his shoulder sealing as the flesh writhed and melted together. “You should’ve been more wary.” A smug smirk spread across his lips.

  It added up. Gideon had injured him to lessen the trio’s suspicion. Bernard’s healing Gift let him perfect the ruse.

  The problem was, Kai and his bodyguards had never trusted the bastard. Their suspicion had remained.

  Bernard started again, relishing his moment of betrayal. “You stupid sons o—”

  An invisible thread rushed past the fool like an executioner’s axe.

  Bernard’s head snapped back, then hit the ground with a wet smack. Blood gushed from his neck as his body pitched forward. The corpse collapsed into a spreading pool of red.

  Rusk had come through.

  The half-naked man fell to his knees, his eyes closed - he was out of the fight.

  Kai returned his gaze to Alira.

  She swung her sword with both hands, aiming to behead the loathsome bastard, giving him a wound to match that of his pitiful goon.

  Kai released a long breath, his jaw loosening. Then he saw it, and his heart grew as heavy as a Darkshard cluster. He opened his mouth to shout, tried to extend space - but it was too late.

  Bernard had been nothing more than a petty distraction, a pawn.

  Gideon’s trap had sprung. Alira’s sword passed through Gideon as though he weren’t there. Like trying to cut a flame. Gideon’s hand shot out, seizing her right gauntlet.

  And she burned.

  Do you hate Gideon now? Or is he still pretty reasonable?

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